Seven weeks passed very quickly in Tucson, partly because five days a week I either went to physical therapy or drove from Tucson to Green Valley for Pilates. It was a full court press, a hard push towards full mobility. By the end of March I had cast aside my cane except for long walks. 

Greg (son) and Shawn (grandson) and I spent a very warm, actually really hot Sunday morning at the Tohono Chul Park in Tucson—always a treat to be with those two guys. They notice things that I totally miss—and call them to my attention. Greg’s photos of a pollen-laden bee slowly backing out of blossoms on a fully flowered orange tree; Shawn finding the tiniest daffodil-looking flowers among rocks and cacti.

Lots of lunches with friends, a wonderful birthday party for friend Robert Shevlin, formerly from Klamath Falls, waiting in line for fresh out of the oven bread at Barrio Bread in Tucson, discovering a happening chocolate store on 22nd Avenue Monsoon Chocolate, requisite Mohs surgery on a skin cancer spot—an annual occurrence, and a soul-restoring stroll through the gardens of Mesquite Valley Growers made the time in Tucson fly by so quickly.

As always, we went to the Tucson Rodeo and were joined by friends from Montana for the afternoon event. Lynn and Ray Biggs were trying to escape the snow so they could play golf in Arizona.  Turns out, Grandson Shawn was up in the grandstands behind us with a date and when we stood for the National Anthem, recognized his grandma as she removed her hat. 

It was a great time in Tucson. Although I am not sorry to have sold my house there and moved on, I do miss the light, the mountain silhouettes that surround the area, bright and beautiful flowers that bloom in winter, the great food choices—and of course, many friends and my family members who live there. I’ll leave you today with one last photo from the Chihuly exhibit in Phoenix, while I go pack for the next leg of this journey.